Yosemite National Park

Don and I have made a conscious decision to take annual backpacking trips. 

As Don puts it, the trip was not so much life-changing as it was "life-affirming": confirming any wavering suspicions that our lives were on track, that we were making the right decisions together, that the great outdoors was the place to be. I've never felt more sure that being here, doing what we were doing, was it. 

...

We started in Los Angeles -- a botched attempt to meet up with a friend of ours that left us miles out of the way and still searching for a place to stay. The amount of cars, freeways, and Metro stops that are actually situated on the freeway, convinced us both that LA is not quite a real city. That, and that you need a smartphone app to call a cab. I'm probably spoiled from living in a city that nearly literally never sleeps, but I don't mind the bias. The central train station was quite pretty, though.

Union Station

We took a bus, then a train, then another bus to get to Yosemite. The trip was worth it -- we saw California's vineyards, deserts, and broken-down towns along the way, giving us a a refreshing breath of central California culture that improved our LA-soured mood.

We ascended into Yosemite Valley -- which is a near-terrifying Disneyland experience of children, sandwich shops, and car campers -- and stayed the night at a backpacker's campground. We hitchhiked our way to the trailhead the next day, which began at the famed Wawona Tunnel.

Tunnel View

We started out with too-heavy packs (mine: 45 lbs; Don: 55 lbs) on the Pohono Trail, a trail that climbs 3,000 feet over the course of 5 miles but offers stunning views of the valley below. It was one of our hardest days.

View of the valley below

Dewey Point

Dewey Point at sunset

The next day was easier, with a gradual climb of about 1,000 feet over 7 miles. We found patches of snow!

The third day was another hard one -- we had to make the final climb to our maximum height of 9,000 feet, much of it saved for the end of the day. We had no idea we'd find this vista at the top (we were starting to get scared of mountain lions: "It looks like the kind of place I'd see a mountain lion"), so thankfully we were stunned into momentary astonishment. We made our way through a short trail to Buena Vista Lake, an alpine lake at 9,077 feet that still had patches of snow.

View from 9,000 feet -- we made it! Note the three peaks of Mount Starr in the background (left).

Buena Vista Lake

What should have been a relatively easy day the next day turned into a disaster. Much of the forest we were hiking through was destroyed by a (possibly recent?) forest fire, throwing massive trunks of ashy, charred trees across the trail. The sun was broiling hot and we had no shade in the burned hellscape, instead pushing on through thorn brambles and scrambling over logs until we heard the babbling of a stream. (You don't know how delirious you can get until you hear the sound of water in an ostensible desert.) We took a long swim and continued the scramble, finally coming to a controlled-burn forest that provided some much-needed shade.

Our stream! Never a more welcome sight. (Notice the burned hellscape in the background.)

Controlled burn -- notice the lack of ground cover and the blackened bottoms of trees

Our last day in the backcountry was also a gradual reintroduction to the public; as we approached the valley, we saw small groups of day hikers, then larger groups of guided hikes, then larger groups with families. Our solitude -- which had been almost 100% complete, with the exception of one park ranger and two other backpackers -- was dissipating quickly, to our dismay. The Panorama Trail led us over a couple waterfalls and once again offered views of the valley. We were back down to 6,000 feet.

Enormous pinecones that we only found at the lovwer altitudes - insane.

Nevada Falls

View of Half Dome 

Illilouette Creek

We spent our last night in another backpacker's camp not far from the valley, and made our way down a slick and steep trail to the valley floor (at 4,000 feet) later that day. We finally reached Happy Isles, our ultimate destination. I think we're glowing.